The Path of a Shinobi
by tiriko
Summary: Post war era, right from the next day of Madara's death. What future is awaiting Konoha? NaruXHina, SasuXSaku
1. Chapter 1

_Naruto is not mine.. :( _

* * *

_~Sakura~_

A faint smile played on her lips as the first golden rays of a soft sun grazed her face, casting a pretty hue to her pale cheeks and pinkish blond hair. For the first time in three years, she looked forward to the day unravelling before her. This day was special.. This day had been her dream, one she had thought would never come.. Well, no need to think about all those terrible things now, she smiled to herself, half awake now. Too lazy to open her eyes, she thought back to the day before.. the day the war was over, finally.

Madara was dead and sealed away for good. The Hokages had all been released from edo tensei with warm send off from the shinobi alliance. The medic ninjas, including her and Tsunade had been busy attending to the seriously injured shinobis.. Kakashi sensei was in coma, due to the deep injury he took when he fought Madara, saving Naruto's body. They had all thought he had died, but amazingly, their sensei's heart had not stopped beating, and she had taken him away from Madara while Gaara fought to protect them all, and had healed his crushed aorta.

Naruto.. He was such an amazing guy that she could no longer relate him to the one she had known three years before. After coming back from his near death, he had fought alongside Sasuke against Madara, with such power that she had never seen before in him. It was as if his experience with death had strengthened him more than ever. He was able to release the Juubi from Madara and become its Jinchuurukki, the first Jinchuurukki of the whole Juubi after the Sage of Six Paths. He had controlled it fully and with ease, before splitting them again into the nine tailed beasts. The beasts were then set free, on the condition that they would strive to protect peace in the world.

And.. Sasuke-kun.. She still couldn't believe he had come back. He had been the one who fought Madara, while Naruto dealt with the Juubi. His eyes.. Those were not the usual rinnegan she saw in Madara's or Obito's eyes, it was peculiar, with comma embedded on the rings. And it was back to his usual pitch black color when the war ended. Those eyes had been so powerful that even Madara had lost before them..

The war between Madara, against Naruto and Sasuke had been on such a destructive scale that they could no longer distinguish the borders of the villages. The face of the land was changed, almost completely. The war had utterly demolished what had been their Leaf village, along with other villages. The shinobi alliance had erected huge tents all over the battlefield, for them to rest for the night temporarily. Though it was rough ground, by the time the seriously injured were treated and dried food packets distributed, everyone had been drained of their chakras, and literally fallen to the ground, sleeping. But all of them were glad.. they had won..

Naruto and Sasuke-kun were heroes of the battle now, the alliance throwing them into the air with such cheers that even Sasuke had to smile. Sakura had watched, happy tears in her eyes, as her two teammates were showered in all the glory they deserved. After the celebration, they had both fallen to the ground, tired. Sakura had seen to it that both of them got comfortable makeshift beds and better food than others. Though they were not in the state to appreciate it all, but still.. it made her happy, seeing them alive and cared for. After seeing to it that they were sleeping soundly, she had went to the tent she shared with the other girls from Konoha.

Now, opening her eyes, she saw that she was the only one still sleeping. Ino and Tenten were talking about the war happily at the far corner of the tent, while Hinata sat a few feet away from her, looking sad. Neji.. she remembered.

"Hinata.." Sakura called softly. Hinata turned, surprised that she was awake.

"U-uh.. Sakura.. Good morning.." She tried to smile.

"Thinking of Neji?" Sakura asked gently.

"Y-yeah.." After a moment of silence, a tear ran down her face.

"Don't be sad about it, Hinata.. Neji died a hero. You should be proud of him now."

"I know.. B-but.." Hinata trembled. "It's hard.. I can't help but blame myself for being unable to protect him.." She gulped. "I'm so weak, aren't I? Maybe that's why Naruto-kun is not acknowledging me.."

"You are good at heart, Hinata.. And that counts more than strength. But, I don't think Neji would want to see you sad because of him.. "

She wiped her tears and tried to smile. "Thank you Sakura..."

"That's better!" Sakura smiled. "And I think Naruto likes you too, Hinata.. That idiot just haven't realized it yet."

Hinata's eyes went wide. "Y-you think so?"

"I know it!" Sakura grinned, relieved to see her glad.

* * *

_I hope to create a dream world with this story.. I can dream on.. can't I? XD _


	2. Chapter 2

~Sasuke~

A faint murmur of conversations pulled him back into awareness. It was not clear at first who they were, or what they were talking about, but he thought he had heard his name mentioned more than once. Then slowly, the sounds drifted towards him, as if they were approaching him.

"But Sakura told me not to let anyone inside! Even if it were friends." An unfamiliar male voice was arguing.

"That is stupid! We just wanna see if he is alright. If we wanted to attack, we would have done that long ago." Suigetsu was saying.

"You are persistent.. Alright.. But not more than fifteen minutes. If you take more than that, I'm gonna call her here. I don't want to make her angry!"

"Ha! It can't be worse than Karin!" Suigetsu laughed.

Sasuke listened, eyes still closed, as two pairs of footsteps approached him. They entered the tent, and stopped. He opened his eyes a slit and saw that he was inside a medium sized tent, off to one side. He slowly opened his eyes wide. At his foot, stood Suigetsu and Juugo. Both seemed happy, as they watched him sit up in the camping bed.

"What's going on outside?" He asked, remembering the end of the war from the previous day.

"Aw.. nothing much.. It's pretty boring since the war ended.." Suigetsu replied, almost pouting.

"The medics are busy healing people. Few shinobi teams have been sent to gauge the scale of destruction and start plans for rebuilding." Juugo told him.

".." He sat lost in thought for a while. "What are you two going to do?" Sasuke asked, glancing at his teammates.

"Well.. I guess you have no more use of us, right?" Suigetsu asked.

"No.." Sasuke replied.

"I guess I will hang around with you a bit more. Then return to my own village, maybe.." Suigetsu smiled, showing his pointed teeth.

"Me too. I don't think I have anywhere else to go.." Juugo said.

"Yeah, alright. Thanks for helping me out.. Juugo.. Suigetsu.." Sasuke said, his face earnest.

Juugo smiled a little, while Suigetsu's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "It's weird to hear that from you, Sasuke! Are you feeling alright?" Suigetsu grinned.

"What is your plan, Sasuke, now that the war is over?" Juugo asked, curious.

"I am going back to Konoha." Sasuke's fists clenched by his sides. "I want to set some things right.."

"I heard you wanted to become Hokage?" Suigetsu asked cautiously.

"Yeah. I plan to."

"It won't be easy.." Juugo looked concerned. "With everything we have done so far.."

"Yeah.. You were practically a missing nin. Don't think they will go light on you." Suigetsu warned.

"I know. But I have already decided." Sasuke said. "I can't fail now." He added, almost to himself.

"Oh well.. If you see it that way.." Suigetsu put a hand on his chin as he studied him.

Sasuke sighed. He removed the covers and stood up. "I have to meet someone." He declared.

* * *

I know. That was way too short.. XD But I'll make up for it in the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

~Naruto~

He winced as the morning light hit him squarely in the eyes. Annoyed, he buried his head inside the pillow and tried to go to sleep again when something soft, but very heavy, landed on his back, startling him. "What the-!" He yelled, jumping up and trying to sit on the bed. His eyes narrowed dangerously when he saw Akamaru staring at him from the top of his stomach.

"WOOOOOOF!" Akamaru told him gravely. "Woof! Woof!" He said, glancing to Naruto's right and wagging his tail, as if looking for appreciation.

Naruto saw Kiba and Shikhamaru sitting to his side, watching Akamaru. Kiba had his canine teeth out in a wide smile and was giving thumbs up to Akamaru, while Shikhamaru yawned.

"Time to get up Naruto! You have been sleeping for too long." Kiba grinned at him, while Akamaru bared his teeth at Naruto.

"At least you could have been a little polite about it." Naruto pouted at Akamaru.

"Wuf?" Akamaru tilted his head, studying him.

"Get off me, stupid dog! You are not that light.. you know.." Naruto yelled at him.

"Hey don't call him stupid! He is brighter than you!" Kiba told him while Akamaru barked his support.

"You think I'm stupid, huh?" Naruto knuckled his fingers, bristling at Kiba now.

"Guys.. Stop fighting so early in the morning.." Shikhamaru advised them lazily, muffling another yawn and turning to stare outside the tent, opening a side of its flap.

They were in a secluded corner, shaded by a tree, but far off, Naruto could make out the war-affected stretch of land. It was almost completely destroyed, with debris and rocks scattered all over between fallen trees and ashes and dust.. Shinobis bustled about on their newly assigned duties. Some stood talking in groups here and there, while a few small teams were seriously bent over maps. Medical ninjas were almost running from tent to tent, trying to attend to all the injured ones. Naruto sighed with relief. Finally, it was over! The wretched war..

"I am going to freshen up!" Naruto stretched his arms far above him and smiled eagerly. "And then I'll pay a visit to Kakashi sensei.. Oh.. Is he still in coma?" He asked.

"The last I heard of, he still was.. But Sakura and Shizune are taking good care of him." Kiba said.

"He might be out by later today or tomorrow." Shikhamaru added.

"That means I won't be allowed to visit.. Alright.. Then I guess I'll just help them with the cleaning up.." Naruto said.

"We will come too." Kiba offered, and Akamaru woofed. Shikhamaru stared at them lazily, and nodded.

Half an hour later, Naruto, Shikhamaru, Kiba and Akamaru were walking through the rubble, taking in the scale of damage. People glanced at them admiringly, especially at Naruto. Some even came near them to thank him for defeating Madara. Others just smiled and waved eagerly. Naruto smiled back to everyone.

Though the land was destroyed beyond recognition, the people had survived. And the alliance was becoming stronger now.. The boundaries between people based on their villages were gone now. Shinobis who were once enemies were now working together to rebuild their homes.. Naruto could not have asked for anything more. He promised himself that if he become the Hokage, he will protect this culture. No more wars.. No more hatred.. No more killing people. Ero Sennin's wish.. The previous Hokages' wills.. His dream.. It was finally become real.. Now the only thing that remained was..

"Hey.. what's happening over there? Isn't that Sasuke in the middle?" Kiba asked suddenly, squinting at a group that had gathered at a distance. They seemed angry at someone, some were even yelling insults.

Shikhamaru frowned. "Sasuke's team.. I had expected this.."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Come on. Let's see what it is about." He said, starting towards the crowd. As they approached, they could see that Sasuke was indeed the target of insults. Suigetsu and Juugo were keeping two rough looking guys from attacking Sasuke. Others were turning violent too. A man even threw a rock at him, which hit him squarely on the forehead, causing blood to rush out. What did not make sense to Naruto was that Sasuke seemed completely calm. He did not even try to dodge the stone. Not even wince at the pain. Naruto felt anger welling up inside him.

"YOU BASTARDS! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" Naruto yelled at them at the top of his lungs. The crowd slowly turned around to see a pissed off Naruto, clenching his fists, along with Shikhamaru and Kiba, who looked equally scary.

"Naruto! This guy here.. He was the one who attacked the Kages.." A mean looking guy shouted.

"Yeah.. I heard he joined Akatsuki, and tried to kill the Raikage's brother!" Another guy spoke up.

"He should be killed!"

"He should not be allowed to roam around free!"

"This guy is a criminal. He should be hanged!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Naruto bristled, his eyes almost sending death glares at the now silent crowd. He pointed at Sasuke, who was still watching calmly, blood dripping down his face, as if it was nothing. "Where were you all when he was fighting alongside us against Madara? Didn't you have anything to complain back then?" Naruto shook his head with disgust. "You are all a bunch of idiots.. At least try to be grateful! Without him, we would not have won.. No one else could help me defeat someone with that much power. Without Sasuke, you would all be either dead or his puppets in that wretched world of dreams.. Would you rather live like that?"

The crowd became more and more silent, throwing guilty looks at each other.

"You guys.." Naruto's hands were trembling now. "Don't judge a person you don't know.. You can't even start to imagine the pain he has been through."

"U-uh.. W-we are sorry, Naruto. We did not mean anything like that." One of them spoke up.

"Y-yeah.. we just thought it was better to prevent someone as powerful as him from doing anything dangerous.."

"Sorry, Sasuke. We acted thoughtlessly." The man whom Suigetsu had been keeping down spoke up guiltly.

"Hn." Sasuke said simply, his voice and face emotionless.

The crowd started dispersing slowly, with guilty looks. One by one, they all left. When the last one was out of earshot, Sasuke turned to Naruto.

"Never do that again." Sasuke warned him, an angry look in his eyes.

"W-what?!" Naruto stared at him, confused.

"I said do not interfere from now on." Sasuke told him, his face dead serious.

"How is that even possible? I can't stand it when they talk shit like that!" Naruto said, frowning.

"I told this already Naruto.. I want to become the Hokage.. And for that to happen, people have to acknowledge me on their own, not by force." Sasuke sighed. "So please don't stop them from letting out their true feelings towards me."

Naruto stared at him, incredulous. Then slowly, understanding mixed with pain spread on his face.

"Alright." He replied, gritting his teeth.

Sasuke turned to Suigetsu and Juugo. "Let's move on." They started to walk away when Sasuke stopped, glancing back at Naruto.

"Naruto, you haven't forgotten, have you? You had promised me a fight.." He asked.

"I know." Naruto replied, clenching his fists, as Sasuke smiled and walked away.

* * *

Well.. Hope you liked it.. :) And please review :)


	4. Chapter 4

~Sakura~

"Sakura.. Tsunade said she wanted to meet you.." Shizune said, entering the medical tent, as Sakura fininshed checking one of the injured shinobi.

"Is that so? I'll go right now. Did you check on Kakashi sensei, Shizune?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah.. He is still in critical condition. But don't worry, Sakura.. I am doing everything I can.. He will pull out definitely!" She gave her a reassuring smile.

"Thanks, Shizune.." Sakura said.

She walked out of the tent, heading in the direction where the Kages' tents were erected. The sun had almost risen to its peak, heat adding to the discomfort of dust and debris. As she approached Tsunade's tent, voices floated out.. And one among them.. Sasuke-kun? Sakura's heart sped up a bit, instinctively. Yesterday, he had been too tired to even notice her, much less talk. She was still too afraid to hope that he had changed.. that he had become the Sasuke-kun she had known so long ago.. But still, a part of her was scared. She hesitated for a second. Well whatever! She is going to know it soon anyway. She took a breath to steady herself and increased her pace. Just as she was about to enter, she heard snatches of conversation.

"Don't misunderstand me." Sasuke was saying. "I am not doing it for this village or anyone. I respect Itachi's sacrifice more than this village's pathetic ways. That's all there is to it."

"I know, Sasuke. And I'm grateful for that. But you must understand that other than a few people including Naruto and Kakashi, no one else has even a clue about it. So to speak frankly, your being acknowledged as Hokage will be almost impossible."

"I know that. That's wh-" Sasuke stopped in mid sentence as Karin's voice interrupted him.

"Won't you come in, Sakura?" Karin asked.

Sakura's heart almost stopped when she realized that her presence had been sensed.

"U-umm.. Sorry to interrupt, but, Tsunade sama, did you send for me?" Sakura asked, entering. She found Tsunade sama sitting with both elbows resting on the small table before her, her face thoughtful.

Sasuke, Suigetsu and Juugo were sitting opposite to her, and Karin stood by a corner of the tent, watching her with curious eyes.

"Yes, Sakura." Tsunade sighed, straightening up. Sasuke did not even glance at her. So much for her hopes.. She thought, a familiar pain weighing her down again.

"I think you already know of Karin here, right?" Tsunade pointed at the red haired girl. When Sakura nodded, glancing at the said girl, Tsunade continued, "She is also a healer, and weirdly talented at it, I must say. Take her with you. She will be of immense help."

"That'll be nice, Tsunade-sama." She smiled genuinely at Karin, who tried to smile back, adjusting her glasses. They really need some more medics who knew what they were doing.

"Alright then. We will discuss again later when everything is back to normal, Sasuke." Tsunade sighed. "I need some more time to think."

Sasuke nodded. "Well, then we will take leave now." He stood up, along with Juugo and Suigetsu and turned to leave. Sakura stared at the boy she had loved all these years. It felt as if he was almost a stranger to her now.. So distant.. So cold.. Sasuke did not even glance at her as he passed her by. For a moment she stood there, unmoving, the pain in her heart so intense that her eyes threatened to fill with tears. But she held on, swallowing her pain, swallowing the hopes she dared not to express. That was when she felt a hand on her shoulders.

"Sakura? Are you alright?" Karin asked her.

"Huh? Oh yeah.. I'm fine.. heh.." Sakura tried to fake a smile. But all that came out was a sigh.

* * *

Thanks for reading.. Please review.. :)


End file.
